When She Was Gone
by matsukanishi09
Summary: He marked her as annoying in his dictionary. Yet when it all changed, he can't help but to wish that time would unwind itself. Non-massacre. Character OOC. SasuSaku and ItaSaku.


This is my first attempt concerning Angst

**This is my first attempt concerning Angst. And my first attempt on a Naruto fiction. I'm not asking for nice reviews, as well as bashing ones; yet, I just want to make it clear that this is SasuSaku—even though they wouldn't make it in the end of the story.**

**This story is a Non-massacre type. Yet, it isn't AU. By the way, the characters are OOC, but in a nice way since I needed them to be like that. XD**

**Please read it! And review as well! :D**

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There was only one word in his dictionary that would by synonymous with Haruno Sakura—and that would be annoying. He never thought of her as a strong, willful and intelligent kunoichi and only focused on the things she did to him every time Team 7 met by the bridge. He would always unlink his arm from her mighty grip; answer her date attempts with a glare, or to call her annoying whenever she shrieks with that shrilly little voice of hers.

He was so used to all those that when the moment Sakura stopped her ministrations at the rightful age of fifteen, Uchiha Sasuke—for once—was utterly surprised.

**--**

It was on the faithful month of September, the leaves were finally shedding away from the trees and Team Kakashi, together with Yamato and Sai, were to meet on the bridge.

Sasuke braced himself for the impact of her petite body against his as the flash of pink entered his vision. However, as the lass arrived, he was only greeted with a smile and a cheerful good morning. No hugs and date attempts. Nothing at all.

The lad was surprised, yet his face didn't show it. He even had to hold his tongue from asking her about the death grips she reserved for him every morning they met, and was thankful when the Kyuubi vessel brought it up for him.

Sakura only managed to smile mirthfully once again, and then changed the matter at hand into their training schedules. Naruto went with the flow, knowing that the maiden didn't want to discuss it any further.

**--**

He was to battle with her today. It felt unusual that he was to fight her today of all days, even though they already fought in a multitude of times. He was pretty confident that he would win again, since his dictionary never appraised her as a worthy opponent.

Clashes of metals were heard, and the sound of falling trees was everywhere. Sakura stood in the distance with a smirk, her disheveled look not straining her energy, as Sasuke hid behind the bushes—bruised and dirtied. Never in his training life did he imagine such inhumane strength from Sakura, since the girl would wail whenever she would be hit by his shuriken, and also when he would be hit by her kunai. But today, the weak link of their team had turned into such a feisty beast, an opponent to watch out for. And with that, he emerged from his hiding place and continued the skirmish with the new Haruno Sakura.

**--**

He had won since Sakura had lost most of her chakra. Passing by the outskirts of the Uchiha district, he clumsily paced to his home, only wanting to heal the cuts and bruises he received for today. As he entered their mansion, the shadow of his older brother welcomed him home.

"It seemed that you had a rough time today. Who did you battle with?" Itachi handed him some bandages.

"Sakura." Sasuke didn't want to lengthen their conversation since he was dead tired from today's training.

Sasuke eyed his brother after fixing his wounds, only to find a tiny smile on the corner of his lips. He shrugged it off, thinking that it might have been a hallucination and decided to go to bed and rest.

**--**

Within the past few days, Sakura did her new routine and didn't provide special attention for Sasuke. The suffix was still added to his name, and he didn't mind it as the days progressed. He was delighted at first, and new meanings were added to her name in his dictionary, with annoying slowly dissolving into nothingness.

More days had passed, and training with her became more haggard. He would be drenched in sweat and dead tired, yet he would win the fray nonetheless. Sasuke began to open up to her as he did with Naruto and Sai, and finally accepted her as a teammate and not a mere burden.

Whenever he went home, his brother would be there to welcome him, asking the same questions as he helped him with healing. Itachi would drop the subject whenever it wasn't Sakura, and this triggered suspicion from the back of his mind. Also, a smile would be visible every time Sasuke would mention that the pink-haired kunoichi had become definitely stronger than before.

He was happy with the changes. Though, a void was starting to form from the back of his mind. Sasuke thought nothing about it and just slept his weary form throughout the rest of the night.

**--**

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, and the new Sakura remained. The void had gone bigger and it eventually consumed him. He felt empty as the days went by. He felt alone in the chill of darkness as each rendezvous came and no arm had linked itself on his own. It finally dawned to him that he wasn't contented with the change she did, and he wanted more attention from her than that which she provided to the rest of the team.

His stares were long and hard. And it wasn't slipping past the eyes of the other members of the team. They would not ask him questions about it, knowing the truth behind those glances he was providing her. Every time she caught him, she would only smile at his direction. And Sasuke would bend his head in disappointment.

He was becoming restless. He couldn't sleep at night without thinking of a way to gain her interest. His dictionary was only filled with her pictures and his attempts to bring her back to him. There were times when he would purposely pin her on the ground during training, or scathe her clothes with his kunai. Nevertheless, he couldn't force himself to ask her about it, for he was afraid to hear the answer he never thought would be possible to escape her lips.

**--**

The growing suspicion concerning his brother remained even if his mind was clouded with unanswered questions about the kunoichi. He once asked Itachi about it, yet his brother merely shrugged it off and told him that he was fascinated on how a petite girl would be a match for a Sharingan wielder. He, in due course, let it slip. But the doubt still lingered.

And by Christmas, all his uncertainties were resolved. And all his questions were answered.

**--**

"Sakura? What are you doing here?" Sasuke removed his scarf and placed it on the chair, his onyx eyes never leaving the maiden situated beside his older brother.

"Sasuke-kun." Sakura fidgeted under his stare, and his eyes caught the very thing he never wanted to see.

Itachi placed his hand atop of hers and encircled his other arm around her back. Sasuke stood by the door, numb and shocked, as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. His parents then came out of the kitchen with four mugs at hand and noticed his presence.

"Sasuke! You didn't tell us you were there!" Mikoto gave the mugs to Sakura and Itachi and pulled her youngest son away from the door.

"What's going on?" Sasuke's eyes turned bloodshot as he stoically asked everyone for an explanation.

"I already asked Sakura for her hand in marriage and she agreed. We'll be married by March." Itachi kissed her cheek and a blush crept on it without a second thought.

Sasuke's eyes returned to normal as he registered the information he had heard from the mouth of his own brother. He never anticipated that this would happen. He wasn't a fool to not realize that the day Sakura changed her ways meant that he was nothing more than a friend—but to know that the replacement she had found was his own brother was utterly painful.

"Since when?" He could no longer hide the hurt in his voice as he continued to fight back the tears threatening to fall.

"August 30th. I planned to notify you by the first thing we meet, yet I didn't have the courage to do so." Sakura mirthfully answered, oblivious to the arrows made by each letter of her declaration that had pierced his heart.

Sasuke stood right after, not minding the protests of his mother about the Christmas festivity and the celebration for the engagement. He then turned around and walked away without looking back, afraid that this time, those salty drops of water would be visible for all of them to see.

**--**

He knew that it was all too late. That it was already impossible the moment he marked her in his dictionary as love.

And as the moonlight shone brightly above and the snow started to fall, Uchiha Sasuke cried.

**--**

**Whew! Finally done! I really don't like this kind of stuff yet it had been bugging me lately. I wanted to imagine another way to make Sasuke regret a thing that he had done, and never be able to change it back to the way it was. His image on Kishimoto-sensei's manga when he realized the truth behind Itachi's ways was a great impact, and I thought that I would want to make a moment (in Non-massacre fandom) that would extract that same reaction from him.**

**Well, that's all with the background of this one-shot!**

**Press the purple button! :3**


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